Livonia planning panel recommends approval for massage business at 34722 Plymouth Road

The Livonia City Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of a special‑use waiver that would allow a massage establishment to operate at 34722 Plymouth Road, forwarding the recommendation to the City Council.

The commission's motion, offered by Commissioner Bongero and supported by Commissioner Droz, passed on a roll‑call vote in which Commissioners Bongero, Droz, Long and Ventura voted aye. The motion includes five conditions, most notably that massage treatment rooms shall not have doors and that window area must comply with section 11.08 (no more than 20% of the window area). The resolution, as read aloud at the meeting, states the approval is subject to City Council review.

Planning staff described the proposal as an interior tenant space of roughly 2,982 square feet inside a 12‑unit shopping center on a 1.88‑acre parcel. Staff said the unit is zoned C‑1 (local business) and that Section 6.37 of the Livonia zoning ordinance treats massage establishments in C‑1 as a waiver use with specific limits, including a 400‑foot separation requirement from other massage businesses and certain community facilities, and operating hours limited to 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. The staff presentation also listed site details: the unit sits near the northwest corner of Plymouth Road and Priscilla Lane and would be located between businesses identified in the record as Tubbies and Balance Nutrition.

Petitioner Zhaofang Yang, who identified her company in the hearing as "May Bridal Spa," spoke briefly and provided a local address. Her landlord, Marshall Iso, confirmed on the record that the petitioner has signed a 10‑year lease for the space and that the tenant will finance and perform interior build‑out work. "My personal name is Zhaofang Yang. Company name, May Bridal Spa," Yang said when asked to state her name and business for the record.

Departmental reviews submitted with the petition—engineering, fire marshal, police/traffic, inspection and treasury—reported no objections to the waiver use. The Department of Inspection noted a plan‑set discrepancy: the petitioner had stated doors would be removed from internal treatment rooms, but the architect's drawings included doors; the commission's approval explicitly includes the condition that massage treatment rooms shall not have doors.

Other conditions read into the approving motion require compliance with the special‑use standards in Section 6.37 and Chapter 5.49 of the Livonia Code of Ordinances; limit window area per Section 11.08; tie the waiver approval to the applicant (transfer only with City Council consent); and prohibit solicitation or business activity within the public right‑of‑way on Plymouth Road or Ingram Avenue. Staff also noted a parking requirement for massage establishments—one space per 150 square feet of floor area—calculated for this unit as 16 parking spaces.

The commission closed the public hearing after noting there were no members of the public wishing to speak. The recommendation now goes to the City Council for final consideration.

Minutes for the commission's Sept. 16, 2025 meeting were approved later in the agenda, and the commission adjourned after thanking Livonia Television volunteers.